Car-bumper



H. E. BILLMAN AND F. A. KELL. CAR BUMPER. APPLlcmo-NHLED rsa.1a.1919.

1,356,959s Patented oet. 26,1920.

UNITED sTATEs PATE-NT OFFICE.:

HENRY E. BILLMAN AND FRANK A. KELL, or str. LOUIS, MISSOURI,` ASSIGNOR'S To INDUSTRIAL TRACK CONSTRUCTIONCOMPANY, 0F

PORATION OF MISSOURI.

Application filed February 18, 1919.v Serial No.r 277,739.`

To all wlw/m. t may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY and-FRANK A. KnLL, citizens of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have jointly invented a certain new and useful Improvement-in Car-Bumpers, of which the following isa specification, reference being` had to the accompanying drawing, forming a partthereof.

This invention relates generally to railway-track equipment, and, Vmore 'particularly, to a certain new and useful improve ment in car-bumpers, the chief object of our present invention being to provide a car-bumper which is simple in form and construction and capable of manufacture and production at al low cost, which may be conveniently, quickly, and inexpensively operatively installed upon the track,which is strong, rugged, and durable to leiliciently withstand ordinary or average shocks .or impacts, and which, when installed upon the track, forms an effective Vobstruction* impeding further progress or travel of the car or cars.

With the above and other objects in view, our invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and. combination of parts hereinafter described and afterward pointed out in the'claims.

In the accompanying drawing, f

Figure l is a perspective view ofasection of a railway-track equipped with a pair of car-bumpers constructed in accordance with and embodying. our invention;

Fig. 2'pis a side elevational view of one of the sections of the bumper; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view .through the bumper as in operatively installed position on the track, taken approximately on the line Referring more particularly to the said drawing, in which like reference characters refer to like partsthroughout the several views, our new bumper comprises a pair of cooperating matching sections A-A, similar in form and construction. Each section A is substantially of plate formation and, in finished form, has the shape and contour illustrated, being of greatest alti,- tude at its longitudinal center and of greatest lateral width at its base.

Each section A may be pressed, cast, or

GAR-BUMPER.

Specification of Letters Patent. l Patented E. BILLMAN si'. Louis, MISSOURI, A conotherwise f ormed to finished shape, and in its production a portion 1 at'the base vofthe plate is suitably formed to project out` wardly ofthe general plane of the outer face of the plate to provide upon the inner side of the plate an open-'ended groove or channel 2 extending throughout the lateralwidth of the plate at its base and'of ka depth and .contour `conform1ng,fas best seen in Fig. 3, to

approximately onehalf offthe contour bf the ball of the substantiallystandard rail B, the plate being extended, as at 3, beneathV the groove 2 to'fit and engage smoothly throughout its base with the web of the rail. as shown. f i

.From a point on each of its side edges slightly above the rail-fitting groove 2,`as best-seen in Figs. l and 2, -thebody of the plate of each section A is cut away inwardly and upwardly on a radius conformingapproximately to the radius of the standard car-wheel and thereby 'correspondingly arc-shaped at opposite side edges. Present-y ed outwardly from thebody of the plate onf l its outer face, and extending around kthe plate, except, as shown, along the lower edge of its Vrail-'web engaging-portion 3, is

a substantiallyl continuous reinforcing oiv strengthening marginal or edge flange 4, the portions of said flange which extend along` the opposite arc-shaped edges of the plate being correspondinglycurved and forming therewith the l.opposite impact-receiving endl walls 5 of the bumper-section A, each of which said end-walls has, as described, an areshaped face substantially conforming in curvature to the circumferential curvature of the standard car-wheel.

Adjacent theupperedge ofthe plate and approximately centrally intermediate the said opposite endvwalls 5-5, the plate ofthe section is provided upon its .outer face with a boss or enlargement 6 preferably laterally the outer face of its said rail-web engaging extension 3 with a plurality of relatively short longitudinally extending strengthening ribs 10. And at suitable intervals along said extension 3 and intermediate Vthe ribs 10, the plate is formed on its outer face with bosses or the like il, the body of t-he plate and each of its said bosses l1 being transversely apertured, as at 1 2-,f12, tov accommodate suitable clamping or fastening bolts 18.

The inner face of each section A, above its said groove 2, is substantially smooth and flat, and in use or practice a pair of the sections A is adapted for conjoint installation upon the rail to form or provide the complete bumper. ln such installation, two of the sections A, in reverse arrangement relatively to each other, are disposed in upright position upon the rail with the major portions of their inner faces registering and abutting flatwise together, their said grooved portions l closely hugging and embracing the ball of the rail, and their lower extensions 3 fitting upon opposite sides of the web of the rail. rlhe two sections A, so disposed, are then rigidly clamped or fastened together and to the rail by means of the clamping or fastening-bolts 18, which are passed through the bolt-holes .or apertures 12 and registering holes provided in the web ofthe rail for the purpose, the two sections A being additionally fastened together in such clamping engagement with the rail by means of a bolt or the like 8 passed through vthe then registering bolt-holes or apertures '7.

The bumpers are adapted to be employed or installed in pairs transversely alined across the track, and when installed as described, it has been found that our new bumpers provide a most eficient obstruction impeding further progress or travel of the car or cars, the said opposite arc-shaped end faces of the bumpers extending orlying in the vertical planes of the rails and the bumpers being of a height to receive the impact or shock from the lower rear quadrants of the wheels and prevent or hold the car from rolling over the bumpers. If desired in any particular installation, the bumper-sections may be clamped together and to the rail by special bolts designed to break or give way when the bumpers are subjected to any extraordinary shock or impact, the bumpers being thereby permitted to gradually move back on the rails and the danger of misplacing the car-trucks under such extraordinary shock or impact being thus obviated.

The bumper-sections A, being similar in `form andconstruction, may be made from one pattern, there being no rights or lefts and the sections being interchangeable and reversible to meet the requirements of any installation. Our new bumpers may be manufactured and produced at low cost and, as will be evident, may be readily and conveniently installed at littlev expense. We may add that not only is the cost of maintenance of our bumpers practically nominal, but by the use and employment of our bumpers, the expense and annoyance of frequent replacements of bent rails, wooden blocks, and other more or less expensive parts, now generally necessitated, so far as we are aware, with other bumpers, is substantially entirely done away with.

lt is to be understood that changes in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of our bumper may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent is: A

`1. A car-bumper comprising a pair of sections, adapted to seaty upon and extend vertically in the plane of the rail, the sections having registering end walls arcuated to conform approximately to the curvature of a car-wheel.

2. A car-bumper comprising a pair of scctions adapted to seat upon and extend vertically in the plane of the rail, the sections being of like formation and having at each end registering end walls arcuated to conform approximately to the curvature of a car-wheel.

3. A car-bumper comprising a pair of sections adapted to seat upon and extend vertically in the plane of the rail, the sections having registering end walls arcuated to conform approximately to the curvature of a car-wheel, and means for engaging the sections and the rail for rigidly clamping the sections together and to the rail.

4. A car-bumper including a pair of sectionsv adapted to seat upon the rail, each sectionbeing'integrally extended for engagement with both a part of the ball and one side of the web of the rail. t

5. A car-bumper including, in combination with a rail, a pair of sections adapted to seat upon ,the rail, each section being integrally extended for engagement with both apart of fthevball and one side of the web of the rail,and meansv projecting through the extended portions of the sections and the web of the rail for clamping the sections and rail together.

6. A car-bumper including, lin combination with a rail, a pair of cooperating companion sections of plate formation' adapted to seat in upright registering position upon the rail, each section having an integral extension adapted for engagement with both a part of the ball `and one side of the web of the rail, and means projecting through the extensions and the web of the rail for clamping the sections and rail together.

7 A car-bumper comprising, in combination With a rail a pair of separable sections substantially of plate formation adapted to seat in upright fiatwise abutting position upon and embrace the ball and Web of the rail7 each section being grooved at its base in conformation With approximately onehalf of the ball of the rail and having a baseeXtension adapted for engagement With the web of the rail, and means extending through said extensions and the web of the rail for separably clamping the sections together and to the rail.

8. A car-bumper comprising, in combination with a rail a pair of sections substantially of plate formation adapted to seat in upright flativise abutting position upon and embrace the ball and Web of the rail, each section being grooved at its base in conformation with approximately one-half of the ball of the rail and having a base-extension adapted for engagement with thevveb of the rail, means extending through said extensions and the Web of the rail for clamping the sections together and to the rail, and additional means extending through the sections above the rail for fastening the seetions together in clamping engagement With the rail.

9. A car-bumper section of plate formation adapted to seatin upright position upon the rail, the section being grooved at its base in conformation with approximatelyv one-half of the ball of the rail and having a base-extension adapted for engagement` with one side of the web of the rail.

10. A car-bumper section provided upon its vouter face vvith strengthening ribs, the section being adapted to seat upon and closely hug a part-of the ball and one sidey of the web of the rail. f

11. A carbumper section of plate formation provided upon one face with strengthening ribs, the section being adapted to seat upon and closely hug a part of the ball and one side of the web of the rail.

12. A car-bumper section of plate formation provided upon one face withy strengthy ening ribs,the section being adapted to seat upon and closely hug a part of the Aball and o ne side of the Web of the rail and hav ing an end Wall arcuated to conform approximately to the curvature of a car-Wheel.

13. A car-bumper section of plate forma-` tion provided upon one face with strengthening ribs and partly therearound `vvith a marginal outwardly presented flange,y the section being adapted to seat upon and closely hug a part of the ball and one side of the Web ofthe rail and an end Wall of the section being arcuated to conform approximately to the curvature of av carvvheel.

14. A car-bumper section of plate formation provided upon one face with strengthening ribs and partly therearound Lwith a marginal outwardly presented flange, the section being adapted to seat upon and HENRY E. BILLMANQ FRANK A. KELL.

-closely hug a part of the ball and one side y 

